Historical and biographical record of Los Angeles and vicinity : containing a history of the city from its earliest settlement as a Spanish pueblo to the closing year of the nineteenth century ; also containing biographies of well known citizens of the past and present, Part 70

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 996

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APT. CHAUNCEY WEEKS HYATT was born in Kent, Putnam county, N. Y., Feb- ruary 28, 1838, a son of James Duncan and Minerva (Meade) Hyatt, the former born in 1805 and died in 1865; the latter born in 1808 and died in 1859. His maternal grandparents were Jere- miah and Lottie (Sprague) Meade. His pater- nal grandfather, John, was a son of Jesse Hyatt, a Revolutionary soldier, whose father, James Hyatt, according to the traditions of the family, was one of three brothers who emigrated to this country from England early in the eighteenth century and who, on separating, assumed the names of Haight, Hoyt and Hyatt. Their de- scendants have become very numerous. The sub- ject of this sketch was the seventh son and ninth child in a family of fourteen, all of whom (with the exception of one that died in infancy ) sur- vived until the youngest was forty-five years of age and each became the head of a more or less numerous family. It may be added that eleven of the fourteen were successful teachers in the common schools. There were two editors and publishers, one successful civil engineer, and all were more than ordinarily successful in busi- 11ess.

Infantry, which was the first three years' regi- ment to leave the state. His regiment accompa- nied Butler to New Orleans and was the first to enter the Crescent city. He remained with his regiment until after the unsuccessful Vicksburg campaign, when he was promoted into the Thirty- eighth Wisconsin Infantry, in which he served from Cold Harbor to Appomattox. He partici- pated in all the desperate battles of the campaign and was in command of his company in nearly every battle even before he was promoted to its head. At the close of the war his company pre- sented him with an elegant sword, inscribed with the battles in which he had engaged. The colonel of the regiment, in making the presentation, stated that, whereas some organizations had pre- sented their commandants with emblems of their confidence at the beginning of their service and had found these commandants incapable or un- worthy, in this instance the mark of esteem had been withheld until the officer had been tested as by fire and found worthy.

In February, 1865, while in front of Petersburg and when preparations were being made for the final assault, Captain Hyatt obtained a leave of absence to go to Chicago. On the 10th of that month, in the city named, he married Mary J., daughter of William and Christie (Smith) Keith. The Keiths were natives of Aberdeen, Scotland, and direct descendants of the celebrated Marshal Keith of illustrious memory. Christie Smith was a sister of Capt. James Smith, of the Chicago Light Artillery, that performed so conspicnous a part in the early maneuvers of the war. George Smith, one of the first bankers of Chicago and among the most successful of the early residents of that city, was a near relative, and until his death officiated as the head of the family. All of his relatives were the beneficiaries of his munifi- cent regard. He died October 8, 1899. He was a prominent member of the famous Reform Club at Pall Mall, London.

The family homestead was situated in the rough and rugged region of eastern New York, where none but the industrious could survive. Every child was required to labor during the summer and attend school during the winter term, which in that section averaged about five months in the year. In this way Chauncey ob- tained the rudiments of his education, finishing up with a limited course at the Raymond Institute When the war closed Captain Hyatt settled in Tama county, Iowa, where he held many posi- tions of trust and profit, but made civil engineer- ing his principal business. He served as county surveyor for two terms. Heestablished the post- office of Badger Hill and was its first postmaster. In 1872 he removed to Dodge county, Neb. in Carmel. When he was about sixteen years of age the family removed to Wisconsin and settled in the wilds of Sheboygan county. Here he en- gaged in teaching. At the outbreak of the Civil war he resigned a Incrative position as teacher in order to measure arms with his country's foes. He enlisted in Company C, Fourth Wisconsin ' There he followed engineering for a few years as

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county surveyor of Dodge county. In 1882 he established the Daily and Weekly Flail, also be- came postmaster at North Bend, in which capac- ity he served through the Arthur and Hayes ad- ministrations, raising the office from the fourth to the third grade. At the advent of President Cleveland, Mr. Hyatt, having made a vigorous campaign for James G. Blaine, was summarily removed from his office for offensive partisanship, being the first postmaster ever removed for that expressed cause in the history of the service. The offense was something new in political his- tory and it was made a national case, the gallant Senator Manderson taking up the matter and making it conspicuous. The Associated Press commented largely and the London Times gave it a leader.

Regarding Mr. Hyatt as an editor, numerous letters from conspicuous Nebraskans testify, con- cerning which we make these quotations:

General Thayer, senator and ex-governor, says: "He is an able and successful editor."

Senator Manderson: "He is a journalist of great ability and has the courage of his convic- tions. Articles written by him bear the impress of thought and are particularly meritorious in forcible expression and diction."

Senator Thurston: "One of the most able and logical editors of the state."

Ed Rosewater, of the Bee: "He is a terse, vig- orons and incisive writer, has few equals as a paragrapher and is possessed of a broad range of information that enables him to discuss public matters intelligently and exhaustively."

Senator Allen: "He is exceptionally able and competent as a newspaper writer and manager. * * * * As an editor Colonel Hyatt has a large experience and possesses rare capacity."

Chief Justice Maxwell: "He conducts one of the ablest and best Republican papers of the state."

Congressman Dorsey: "He is a trenchant and versatile writer, uses the king's English with terseness and vigor and as an editor has no su- perior in the state."

National Committeeman Church Howe: "A strong writer, full of energy and quick to 'catch on.' He is considered one of the best writers in our country."

These quotations, taken from a large collection of letters held by Mr. Hyatt, prove that his work as a newspaper man was appreciated.

The Daily Flail of Fremont continued under his management until, as a delegate to the na- tional editorial convention in San Francisco, he was so delighted with Los Angeles that he put his paper on the market and within a few months he was ready to start toward the setting sun. On arriving at Los Angeles in July, 1894, he at once adapted himself to the conditions and began ear- nestly to work for the upbuilding of his adopted city. He was one of the very first to agitate the question of the annexation of his locality to the city, being a member of the general committee and chairman of the committee on "Literature" for the occasion. He is an active real estate man and has been one of the strongest factors in the grand march of improvements in the southwest. He is a prominent member of the Military Order of Loyal Legion, the Grand Army of the Repub- lic, the Junior Order American Mechanics, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. His home at No. 1016 West Thirty-fifth street is one of the most pleasant and commodious in that part of the city. He and his wife have two children living, Louise Maude and Major Chauncey Alanı- son, having lost their eldest son, George Smith, in his infancy.

ILLIAM C. MOORE, a well-known citi- zen and walnut grower of the Los Nietos district, and a director of the Los Nietos Irrigating Company, has demonstrated his fit- ness to be numbered among the most enterprising and worthy of the residents of this fertile county. His ranch, upon which he settled a number of years ago, contains sixteen and one-half acres, partially under walnuts.

Mr. Moore is a native of Denmark, where he was born October 4, 1860. His parents were John and Margaret Moore, who were born in Ger- many. John Moore died in Denmark when his son William was in liis third year. After a time his widow married again, becoming the wife of Henry Earnest, of Demark, and they are now residing at Santa Ana, Cal. When Willian Moore was about five years old he was taken to

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America by his mother and step-father, the little party crossing in a sailing vessel, and having a long and stormy voyage. Arriving in America, they settled in Howard county, Iowa, where they industriously engaged in agricultural pursuits for many years, and here their son passed his youthful days and grew to man's estate. He as- sisted in the work around the farm, and studied diligently at the district schools.

Mr. Moore was married in 1886, in Iowa, to Mary L. Isbell, a native of Iowa, and they have one child, Glen A. After his marriage Mr. Moore continued to farm in Iowa for a short time, but in 1887 came to California, and for several years re- sided at Tustin, Orange county. Not being con- tent with the locality as a permanent place of resi- dence, he came to Los Angeles county early in the 'gos, and for a time farmed successfully on leased land. After settling on his present ranch near Los Nietos he became interested in the various institutions for the upbuilding of the lo- cality with which he had cast his fortunes, and these, added to the care of his farm and horticul- tural interests, have been prolific of good finan- cial and social returns. He is a self-made man in the truest sense of the word, having risen by his own exertions to his present place in the esti- mation of his fellow-townsmen. Politically he is affiliated with the Republican party, but has never had political aspirations, being content to leave to others the manipulation of the political machinery.

HARLES SEYLER. Prominent among the railroad men of Southern California is Charles Seyler, whose service in this calling extends over a period of nearly thirty years. He is esteemed a valuable and thoroughly faithful employe of the great Southern Pacific Railroad system and is well known to the business men and general public of Los Angeles and vicinity. Courteous and prompt in the performance of his duties, he has won the respect of those with whom he has had dealings and has a host of sincere friends. In addition to his railroad in- terests, for some years he has acted as president of the Metropolitan Loan Association, which has reached its greatest prosperity under his able management.

Mr. Seyler was born in Dansville, Livingston

county, N. Y., October 2, 1844, of German parentage. His father, Charles Seyler, Sr., was a native of Prussia, Germany, and emigrated to the United States in the year 1838. Shortly after his arrival in this country he enlisted in the army, serving during the Indian war in Florida, and at the expiration of his term of enlistment settled in western New York, becoming a success- ful merchant. His mother was a native of Bavaria, Germany. Charles Seyler, Jr., like his father, was greatly interested in the patriotic issues of the age, and, though only sixteen years of age when the first gun of the Civil war was fired, he was one of the first to respond to the call of President Lincoln for volunteers. April 25, 1861, his name was enrolled in the army. For three years he served as a private in Com- pany B, Thirteenth New York Infantry. He participated in numerous important campaigns, and fought in the first battle of Bull Run, that of Antietam, the operations around Richmond, the battle of Fredericksburg, and many others. He was not only one of the first to fight for the Union cause, but he was also one of the last to leave the service. At the close of the war he went to Virginia, where he was in the quartermaster's department for a period of three years.

In 1869 Mr. Seyler came to the Pacific coast, where he has since resided. Locating in San Francisco, he entered the employ of the Central Pacific, now under the management of the South- ern Pacific Railroad Company. During the twenty-nine years that have elapsed since he be- came connected with this corporation he has been chiefly employed in the freight department, and thoroughly understands every detail of the same. As may be readily supposed, the freight handled by the company is enormous in volume, and it requires live, energetic men at the head of affairs, and such an one is found in Mr. Seyler. In 1886 he was installed as local freight and ticket agent in Los Angeles and since then has efficiently attended to the needs of the public in this section of the state. Prior to his acceptance of his present office he had served the company as a traveling auditor for five years, and his splendid financial ability and keen judgment brought him into particular favor with his su- periors. In 1890 he became a director in the Metropolitan Loan Association, and is still con-

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nected with it in that capacity. Since 1895 he ing vessel that took its dilatory way across the has been its president. This is the most success- ful building association in Los Angeles, accord- ing to the judgment of many competent to know. Since its organization it has erected no less than two hundred dwellings in Los Angeles.

For what he has accomplished Mr. Seyler de- serves credit. "His country first, and his com- pany afterward" may be said to have been his motto. Whatever enterprise he has undertaken has been carried out in a whole-hearted manner. In politics he is a stanch Republican, but he has found little time to devote to public affairs, al- though he has never failed in his duty as a citi- zen and voter. Fraternally he ranks high in the Masonic order and that of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

The home-like, cozy residence of Mr. Seyler is at No. 2305 Scarff street, Los Angeles. In 1875 he married Miss Pauline Bauer, by whom he has one son, Charles Seyler, the third of that name in direct descent. He is a promising young man and a recent graduate of the Cali- fornia State University at Berkeley.

12 IEDRICH C. MENSING, horticulturist, apiarist, cooper, and an all-around enter- prising resident of the Covina valley, was born in Bremen, Germany, March 16, 1846. His parents were Diedrich C. Mensing and Sophia (Baumann) Mensing, both of whom were natives of Germany and residents of Bremen.

Until he attained his majority our subject re- mained at his father's home in Bremen and was meantime favored with excellent educational ad- vantages. In addition he received the fine prac- tical home training that falls to the lot of the average German boy. When fourteen years of age he began to prepare for an independent liveli- hood in the future, and, following his father's advice, he became a cooper. He worked at his trade in Bremen for several years with success, but, being awake and ambitious, he longed for other fields of operation. The ships that continually sailed away from his seaport town seemed to carry travelers to lands of greater promise than was apparent from an uninterrupted future resi- dence in Bremen1.

There, in 1867, he engaged passage on a sail-

ocean mid delaying storms and more delaying calins, and after six weeks and three days the watery way was intercepted by the shores of America. Arriving in New York, he proceeded to Buffalo, where, and in Cleveland, Ohio, he worked at his trade for a time. In 1869 he jour- neyed to San Francisco. His opportunities for seeing the world were supplemented by a sojourn of two and one-half years in the Sandwich Islands, during which time he was employed at the cooper's trade. Returning to America, he settled in Los Angeles county, Cal., where his trade still commanded his attention at San Gabriel. In the fall of 1875 he became interested. in the apiary business at Lang Station, making a scientific study of the raising of bees. He con- tinued this occupation until 1882, when he settled on his present ranch, one mile south of Irwin- dale. His land comprises forty-three acres under citrus and deciduous fruits.

Mr. Mensing was married in Germany to Meta Egbers, of Bremen. He is an active and helpful member of the German Lutheran Church. Foremost in many of the enterprises for the development and well-being of his county and town, he has served in many capacities with credit to himself and his community. He is a director in the Irwindale Land and Water Com- pany, and a charter member of the Irwindale Citrus Association. Fraterually he is associated. with the Independent Order of United Workmen at Covina.

M ICHAEL REBHAN, who is a horticul- turist, settled ou a ranch near Irwindale in 1894 and has since given his attention closely to the improvement of the property, consisting of nineteen acres, mostly under oranges. He is a director in the Irwindale Citrus Association and in the Azusa Irrigating Company, and is identi- fied with other local movements of an important character. As a man of enterprise and business acumen, he commands respect and esteem from his associates.

A son of Peter and Maggie Rebhan, natives of Germany, Michael Rebhan was born in Bavaria April 18, 1852. Under such influences as sur- round a German boy of the middle class, he passed the years of boyhood and youth. Ou

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reaching his twentieth year he came to the United States. The year 1872 found him in Cleveland, Ohio, where he spent some six years, and was employed in a foundry. Since coming to this country he has acquired a good knowledge of the English language, in addition to which he has a fine German education.

From Cleveland Mr. Rebhan moved to Kansas in 1878 and began farm pursuits in Clay county. In that section he continued to live until 1894. He then came to California and settled on the place he still owns. He is a diligent worker, always striving to keep his place under good im- provement and in a condition equalling that of the other progressive fruit-growers of the neigh- borhood. While he is not active in public affairs he is public-spirited and is a patriotic citizen of the country of his adoption. After coming to America he married Elizabeth Seitz, of Cleve- land, Ohio. They have five children now living, Mary A., Edward, John G., Lillie and Pearl.

A. WELDON, M. D., who is the pro- prietor of the leading drug store in San . Pedro and for thirteen years or more has been closely connected with every movement tending to advance the permanent welfare of this place, is widely known in this section of Los An- geles county, and, wherever known, is held in genuine esteem. Broad minded and progressive in all of his views and loyal in his devotion to this, the chosen city of his abode, he accepted the responsible position of chairman of the board of trustees of San Pedro when it was urged upon him, and in this capacity has been able to do much for the place. He has acted in this office for the past three years-years truly crucial in its history, for the great question of the harbor improvements and all of the local improvements so surely following in the train of the paramount improvement have been debated by the public and much has been already accomplished. With the great prospects which San Pedro has to-day as a shipping point for the vast southeastern sec- tion of the United States, and with the wonderful ·impetus which the entire tier of Pacific coast states will receive as the direct result of our re-

cent island acquisitions in the westein ocean, too much cannot be predicted of the San Pedro of the future.

Dr. Weldon was born in South Portland, Me., in 1853, but was reared in the city of Boston, where he obtained an excellent education in the public schools. After completing his high school studies he entered Bowdoin College in Maine, where he spent two years in the academic de- partment. He then obtained a position in a drug store, and, while mastering the business, he also devoted considerable attention to the study of medicine. In 1884, after he had been given his degree as a doctor of medicine from Bowdoin College, he came to the west, and for a couple of years pursued his practice in the eastern part of the city of Los Angeles. In 1886 he came to San Pedro, where he soon built up a large and repre- sentative practice. From 1890 to 1893 he served as county coroner, and for several years he has been retained by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company as their local physician and surgeon. He owns and carries on a well-equipped drug store, and usually gives employment to two clerks.

In his political preferences the doctor is strong- ly in favor of the policy of the Republican party, believing that to its wisdom in steering the ship of state through the stormy waters of war, recon- struction and financial panics the present mar- velous prosperity of the United States is dne. Fraternally he stands high in the ranks of the Foresters of America, and occupies one of the most exalted offices in the grand body of the or- ganization. He has one son, now attending the Los Angeles publie schools.

Dr. Weldon is the federal quarantine officer for the United States marine hospital service at San Pedro.

ILLIAM A. JOHNSTONE. During the decade in which he has made San Dimas his home and horticulture his occupation, Mr. Johnstone has displayed an energy of dispo- sition and determination of character that entitle him to the prosperity he is already achieving. He possesses the enterprise of youth, together with the self-reliance usually an attribute of ex- perience and age. In the cultivation of - his ranch of thirty acres he has shown prudence and

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persevering industry. In addition to managing this property he is a director in the Indian Hill Citrus Union (now the San Dimas Citrus Union), a prominent local organization that has proved of great advantage to the shippers of citrus fruits.

Thesketch of Mr. Johnstone's father, James A., appears on another page and presents the family history. Our subject was born in Ontario, Can- ada, December 15, 1869, and at an early age ac- companied his parents to Manitoba, where his schooling was principally obtained. From an early age he was fond of reading, hence he ac- quired a far broader education than could be ob- tained merely from a study of text-books. After leaving school he took up the study of law with Hon. Clifford Sifton, of Brandon, Manitoba, a man of great talent, and who is now minister of the interior for the Dominion. With him he re- mained for two years.

On the removal of his father to California in 1890 Mr. Johnstone accompanied him to San Dimas, and this place has since been his home. Patriotic in his devotion to the country of his adoption, he maintains an intelligent interest in all measures pertaining to our nation's advance- ment. In politics he is a stanch Republican. At this writing he is a Republican committee- man of the Lordsburg precinct. In the Lords- burg Methodist Episcopal Church, to which he belongs, he serves as a trustee and steward, and has been helpful in advancing the work of the church in its various societies. Fraternally he is a Mason, identified with the lodge at Covina.

G EORGE O. SHOUSE. In all of his travels, which have covered thirty-two states of the Union, Mr. Shouse has found no state that, in his estimation, compares with California as to climate, scenery and possibilities for the future. When he came to the state, in 1887, he first set- tled south of Los Angeles, on the Centerville road, near Englewood, where he gained his first experience with ranching in the far west. From there he came to Covina in December, 1894. Since that time he has made his home on the same place. He is known as an energetic, judi- cious and broad-minded man, whose success is

richly deserved aud whose moral attributes are no less worthy of commendation than his business qualifications. At the time of his arrival in this neighborhood he leased the Hollenbeck ranch of thirty-one hundred and eighty acres, for which he paid a cash rental of $5,000. However, a very short time afterward (February, 1895) he bought twenty-one hundred and twenty acres of the ranch, and this he owned and operated until April, 1900, when he sold an undivided half to F. M. Chapman. He still continues as manager of the Hollenbeck ranch (as the place is known) and has put about twelve hundred acres under cultivation, utilizing the balance for pasture.

In the early days, when Daniel Boone crossed the mountains from Virginia into Kentucky, he was accompanied by the great-grandfather of Mr. Shouse. The grandfather, Thomas Shouse, became a farmer in Kentucky, where he died at the age of one hundred and one years. Next in line of descent was Thomas Shouse, Jr., who died in Kentucky at the age of forty-seven, and whose wife, Susan (Johnson) Shouse, died when only twenty-nine years old. Their son, G. O. Shouse, was born in Anderson county, Ky., January 14, 1866, and was only eleven years of age when he started out in the world for himself. His years of youth were spent in various places, but princi- pally at one occupation, farming. Much of his time he was employed in the south and middle west. The fact that he was early thrown upou his own resources was to some extent helpful, as it developed in his character traits of self-reliance and determination. He is devoted to California and its welfare, and firmly believes Covina to be the fairest valley of the whole state. He has not been active in politics, but those who know him are never left in doubt as to his opinions-he is a stanch Republican and votes the ticket at all elec- tions. Fraternally he is connected with the Or- der of Foresters, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, Ancient Order of United Workmen and Covina Lodge, F. & A. M.

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Historical and biographical record of Los Angeles and vicinity : containing a history of the city from its earliest settlement as a Spanish pueblo to the closing year of the nineteenth century ; also containing biographies of well known citizens of the past and present, Part 70

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918 Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 996

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 996